Knockdown chair



April 15, 1958 H. J. J. WAGEIQIANS KNOCKDOWN CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 25, 1955 INVENTOR. Henricus J. \J'. 'Wogemons ATTORNE .s'

April 15, 1958' H. J. J. WAGEMANS I 2,830,656

'KNOCKDOWN CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1955 INVENTOR. Henricus, JJ. Wogemans ATTORN EYS United States 2,330,656 ?atented Apr. 15, 1958 i ce KN ()CKDOWN CHALK Henricus J. J. Wagemans, Maastricht, Netherlands, asstgnor to Wagernans & Van Tuinen N. V., Maastrieht, Netherlands, a corporation of the Netherlands Application September 23, 1955, Serial No. 536,101 Claims. (Cl. 155-491) This invention relates to an imprcvementin knockdown or collapsible chairs for home, shipboard, beach, business and other purposes.

There is asubst-antial demand for attractive and cornfortable chairs which can be knocked down or collapsed into a small space for storage, shipment or other transportation, but which can be quickly and easily assembled when needed and which, when assembled, provide a comfortable and attractive chair.

Most chairs of the folding, type are difiicult to assemble, often requiring the use of tools for this purpose. They are uncomfortable to sit on. They are usually of weak or flimsy construction and their appearance is such that they are only suitable for beach, picnics and other outdoor purposes.

It is one of the objects of my invention to provide a knockdown chair in two parts which is easy to assemble or disassemble and which when assembled provides an attractive piece of furniture which is comfortable to sit on.

Another object of my invention is to provide a knockdown two-part chair which is of sturdy construction and in which the parts are automatically locked and held in position when the chair is assembled.

Another object of my invention is to provide a knockdown two-part chair which can be upholstered in attractive fabrics and provide a chair suitable for use in the living room of a home, a hotel lobby or other places where an attractive appearance and sturdy construction isdesired.

Another object of my invention is to provide a twopiece knockdown chair, which when knocked down or collapsed, can be easily handled and occupies only a small space for shipping, storage or other purposes.

Various other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as this description proceeds.

Referring now to the drawings which illustrate a preferred form of embodiment of the invention,

Fig. l is a perspective view of an assembled upholstered chair constructed according to my invention;

collapsible or knockdown Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the locking con- I struction of the chair with the upholstering removed;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the seat and rear leg frame construction of the chair;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of approximately one half of the back and front leg frame construction of the chair, and V Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an upholstered chair illustrating the parts in the processes of disassembly.

in the form of embodiment of the chair illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5, the chair consists of a back portion A to which the front legs A and A are secured, forming one complete part of the chair, and of a seat portion 8 to which the rear legs B and B are secured, forming the other part of the chair. The back portion A and the seat portion B, and the front and rear legs connected respectively thereto, are made as separate units of the phair, as illustrated in Fig. 5, at'hich are assembled and locked together to form the complete chair as illustrated in Fig. 1. The back portion A and the legs A and A connected to it and seat portion l3 and the legs B and B connected to it may be readily separated for storage or shipment and again asseabled together and locked in their assembled relation by simple movement of the two parts of the chair and without the use of tools.

Referring now to Fig. 2 which illustrates a preferred form of locking construction, the back portion A, with the legs A and A connected thereto, has two spaced horizontal rails 3 and 4 extending between the legs A and A and connected to the legs A and A in any suitable manner. Preferably, the upper rail 3 is connected at each end by dowels, shown in dotted lines, and, by gluing to the leg portions A and A and the lower rail 4, is connected to the legs A and A at each end in a similar manner. Corner brackets l are also secured in the corners between the lower rail 4 and its adjacent legs A and A The lower rail 4 is of substantially rectangular shape but the upper corner 4 is cut on an angle as illustrated to facilitate passing the rear legs, connected to the seat portion B, between the upper and lower rails 3 and 4 of the back portion and to provide a flat supporting surface 4' for the seat portion when the two parts are in assembled position. in the assembled chair the fiat supporting surface 4 lies in a substantially horizontal plane.

The upper rail 3 is cut on a diagonal 3 to provide a flat upper bearing surface for the seat B and rear legs 13 and B The face 3 lies in a substantially horizontal plane when the parts of the chair are in assembled position.

Means are provided for locking the parts of the chair in assembled position. For this purpose, the center of the upper rail 3 is provided with a slot 3* into which a locking dowel block 5 is secured to lock the parts of the chair in assembled position as described later. A plywood or other back support A is secured to the upper rail 3 and upper portion of the legs A and A and serves as a support for the springs and upholstery used for upholstering the back portion as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 5. The springs, upholstery, etc. may be applied to the back portion A in any desired manner and the details of the upholstering form no part of the present invention.

The seat portion B consists of the seat support B which may be of plywood or the like, connected to leg portions B and B and a yoke member 6 extending between the legs B and B and connected to each leg B and B by dowel and glue connections similar to the way the rails 3 and 4 of the back portion are connected to the legs A and A The yoke 6 is given a slight curvature on its rear face as shown at 6 and has fiat top and bottom faces. When the parts of the chair are in assembled position, the bottom face of the yoke 6 and a portion of the plywood seat portion B rests upon the diagonal face 4 of the lower rail 4 and the to face of the yoke 6 rests against the corresponding face 3 of the upper rail 3. A slot a in the top of the yoke 6 receives the projecting end of locking dowel block 5 to lock the seat and back portion of the chair in assembled position and a layer of felt '7 secured to the bottom of the upper rail 3 of the back portion provides a noiseless connection between the back and seat portion of the chair.

A curved upholstery support bar 3, secured to the leg portions B and B and the yoke 6, is shown in Fig. 2. The seat portion is provided with springs, padding and upholstery as illustrated in Fig. l, but as the manner of applying the upholstering is not a part of the present invention it will not be further illustrated and described.

The assembled position of the seat and back portion is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. In this position the chair provides a firm and steady seat with the ends of the four leg portions A A E and E resting on the floor and preventing tipping of the chair in any direction. In use, the position of the yoke 6 on the upper and lower rails 3 and 4 tend to wedge the parts together when a person is sitting in the chair, so that a firm locking is provided without the locking dowel block 5, which can, if desired, be omitted. With the locking dowel block 5 in position, the parts of the chair cannot accidentally become separated. In place of the dowel block 5 and slot 6, other cooperating blocks or lugs and grooves may be provided in the faces of the yoke 6 and rails 3 or 4 to lock the parts in assembled position.

In order to separate the parts of the chair for storage, shipment or other purposes, the back portion A is tipped forward and the seat is lifted upward so that rear leg portions 13 and B are turned in a clockwise direction substantially around the face 4* of the lower rail 4 as a center, as indicated by the arrow 9 (Fig. 2) until the slot 6 clears the projecting end of the locking dowel block 5 whereupon the seat portion B and legs B and B may be moved forward, as illustrated in Fig. 5, to pull the legs B and B from the rectangular space defined by the legs A and A and the rails 3 and 4 and separate the seat and back portion of the chair. When separated, the back portion, consisting of the upholstered back A and connected legs A and A and the seat portion, consisting of the upholstered seat B and connected legs B and B may be stacked one on top of the other, or in I any other desired position, so that they occupy a very small space for storage or shipment of the chair. No tools are needed to assemble or dissassemble the two parts of the chair and there are no loose parts to be removed and nothing which might become lost.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, consisting of an upholstered chair, it will be understood that the upholstering may be omitted and a simple frame chair provided, and that various other modifications and changes may be made from the chair as illustrated without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a knockdown chair of the type described, a back portion having two legs connected thereto, a seat portion having two legs connected thereto, spaced rails extending between the legs of the back portion and connected thereto, a rigid yoke member extending rearwardly from the seat portion between the legs of the seat portion and connected to the seat portion and to the legs of the seat portion, the legs and yoke of the seat portion occupying a position between the rails and legs of the back portion when the chair is in assembled position and the top of the yoke member bearing against the upper rail extending between the legs of the back portion.

2. In a knockdown chair of the type described, a back portion having two legs connected thereto, a seat portion having two legs connected thereto, spaced rails extending between the legs of the back portion and connected thereto, each of said rails having a diagonal flat face extending in a substantially horizontal plane when the chair is in assembled position, a rigid yoke member extending rearwardly from the seat portion between the legs of the seat portion and connected to the seat portion and to the legs of the seat portion, the legs and yoke of the seat portion occupying a position between the rails and legs of the back portion with the yoke resting against the diagonal faces of said rails when the chair is in assembled position, and a noise proofing material between said yoke and one of said rails.

3. In a knockdown chair of the type described, a back portion having two legs connected thereto, a seat portion having two legs connected thereto, spaced rails extending between the legs of the back portion and con nected thereto, each of said rails having a diagonal fiat face extending in a substantially horizontal plane when the chair is in assembled position, a yoke member extending between the legs of the seat portion and connected thereto, the legs and yoke of the seat portion occupying a position between the rails and legs of the back portion with the yoke resting against the diagonal faces of said rails when the chair is in assembled position, a locking means secured in one of said rails and projecting from the diagonal face thereof and a. slot in said yoke for receiving said locking means.

4. In a knockdown chair of the type described, comprising essentially two separable parts, one part consisting of a back portion having two legs connected thereto, the other part consisting of a seat portion having two legs connected thereto, spaced substantially rectangular rails extending between the legs of the back portion and connected thereto, a fiat diagonal face on each of said rails, said flat diagonal faces lying in spaced substantially parallel horizontal planes when the chair is in assembled position, locking means secured to one of said rails, a yoke member extending between the legs of the seat portion and connected thereto, said yoke member having upper and lower faces lying in spaced substantially parallel horizontal planes when the chair is in assembled position, a locking means receiver in said yoke, the legs and yoke of the seat portion occupying a position between the rails and legs of the back portion when the chair is in assembled position, with the locking means locking the parts in assembled position.

5. In a knockdown chair of the type described, an upholstered back portion having two legs connected thereto, an upholstered seat portion having two legs connected thereto, spaced rails extending between the legs of the back portion and connected thereto, said rails having opposed faces extending in a substantially horizontal plane when the chair is in assembled position, a yoke member extending between the legs of the seat portion and connected thereto, the legs and yoke of the seat portion occupying a position between the rails and legs of the back portion with the yoke resting against said opposed faces of said rails when the chair is in assembled position, a locking block secured in one of said rails and projecting therefrom, and a slot in said yoke for receiving said block when the chair is in assembled position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,949,951 Bozarth Mar. 6, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,201 Great Britain 1899 136,434 Sweden July 8, 1952 699,627 Great Britain Nov. 11, 1953 

